NY, NY may be on its way to closing-NY Post

[nybkg609]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 10:48am

Reported in the NY Post this morning. New York, New York is in big box office trouble. Read the link and comment:

https://nypost.com/2023/07/10/broadways-new-york-new-york-could-close-in-weeks-sources/

[pablitonizer]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 10:51am

Oh no, I always feel bad when this happens

 

The article also notes:

And while that crop of shows was partly hurt by negative reviews, sources said a few critical darlings are eyeing September end dates. 

One could be “Some Like It Hot” at the Shubert, whose grosses have more ups and downs than the Cyclone in Coney Island. Having lost Best Musical to “Kimberly Akimbo,” and with a weekly running cost of some $950,000, it will be hard to stay hot all summer.

 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 10:54am

Both shows have high weekly operating costs. So if they're not selling at high capacity, they're more or less done. I thought Some Like It Hot could stick it out through the end of the year. New York, New York has never had much steam to boost their grosses or even good word-of-mouth.

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 11:09am

The articles I need are not speculations on closing (we all knew NY, NY wasn't making it past labor day, right?), but an analysis of why on Earth producers keep throwing over $20 million at new shows (without stars) and how on Earth they're letting them cost this much to run. I know, I know, I know inflation, everything is more expensive. But a show that costs $1.2 Million a week to run still sounds absurdly expensive to me. 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 11:16am

Poor Stro another FLOP on Broadway! 

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 11:16am

Broadway must now face facts — they have created a landscape where [...] post-pandemic, nobody is willing to spend that kind of money anymore.

There it is.

[quizking101]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 11:17am

This doesn't seem like news. I think most of us had extremely high expectations of this show given the pedigree and most of us were severely disappointed by the show in one aspect or another - whether it be the polarizing casting, the recycled/hybrid score, or the lazily written book.

I had a feeling that this was going to tank when I saw it in previews and I just sat there reactionless - all sizzle and no sausage. The lady in front of me at intermission even asked me and the folks near me "Are you guys enjoying this at all?" in a very confused tone.

Drama Book Shop was literally giving away free tickets to this show last week to anyone who bought their tie-in coffee special. 

[bdn223]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 11:25am

But how have operating costs gotten to $1.2M a week? If anything this article screams operating costs have become unsustainable especially when it quotes a $950K cost for Some Like It Hot. Pre-Covid if show made $1M a week there was little doubt it was a making money with a few rare exceptions Moulin Rouge, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Spiderman Turn off the Dark, Motown, and now 3 years later it means they are likely barely treading water. 

Sweeney Todd, which has a similar sized cast and orchestra and is also just a lavish, but is also paying 5 names, 2 of which are above the title only cost $850-$900K a week to operate, but Some Like It Hot and New York, New York neither of which have names cost an additional $50K-$350K a week to operate? Where is this additional money going? If anything this points to a desperate need to Broadway to bring in some restructuring consultants to figure out how to maintain quality while slashing costs.

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 11:25am

This is not news although some details are interesting. Best case scenario is this making it to Labor Day. I also still stand by my belief that SLIH won't make it to January like some think.

As far as NYNY, I feel like Lin-Manuel has been pretty tepid in terms of promoting it. It's like he knew it wasn't that good and kept it at an arms-length despite being involved creatively.

[James885]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 11:33am

jkcohen626 said: "The articles I need are not speculations on closing (we all knew NY, NY wasn't making it past labor day, right?), but an analysis of why on Earth producers keep throwing over $20 million at new shows (without stars) and how on Earth they're letting them cost this much to run. I know, I know, I know inflation, everything is more expensive. But a show that costs $1.2 Million a week to run still sounds absurdly expensive to me."

I'm not in NYC so I haven't seen the show but mounting this show always felt like a huge gamble to me: a big, expensive musical with no big stars that's based off an obscure (at least to the general public) film. Seems like they were really banking on the pedigree of the creative team to put butts in seats, but Stroman and Kander & Ebb aren't the kind of names that will do that. And it might be blasphemous to some, but I don't think Lin's name alone is the kind of high-wattage star power that sells scores of tickets.

[Phillyguy]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 11:36am

jkcohen626 said: "The articles I need are not speculations on closing (we all knew NY, NY wasn't making it past labor day, right?), but an analysis of why on Earth producers keep throwing over $20 million at new shows (without stars) and how on Earth they're letting them cost this much to run. I know, I know, I know inflation, everything is more expensive. But a show that costs $1.2 Million a week to run still sounds absurdly expensive to me."

It's inevitable when the cost of everything is up. The writer's striker is a reminder that everyone is fighting for a fair wage, that will continue to drive up the cost of shows. 

[Kad]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 11:38am

I know out of town tryouts are costly and generally falling out of practice but getting these new musicals out of their development bubble and in front of paying audiences before they open in the unforgiving Broadway market is extremely valuable. 

[Leaf Coneybear]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 11:41am

Part of the key also, I think, is actually making changes in previews. I saw one of the first previews and it was pretty painful. At times I had to keep myself from laughing out loud at the book: As my friend put it, it sounded like AI wrote a musical. Absolutely no substance, and of course way too many things going on. 

If these had been addressed early on it may have helped the show promote itself, but as far as I can tell the script is still terrible, Colton's still doing his weird accent, and they have about a million plots going on to the point where no one cares about any of them. As sad as it is to see a show close, this one has been a long time coming.

[pethian]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 11:47am

I had heard about the break even for SLIH but the NYNY number is news to me and it is jaw-dropping...and head-scratching. I don't like hearing when any show fails, even those I didn't care for, but this news makes me especially sad because of the larger picture of how unimaginably daunting the finances of Broadway have become, especially for a big musical.

[binau]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 11:56am

pethian said: "I had heard about the break even for SLIH but the NYNY number is news to me and it is jaw-dropping...and head-scratching. I don't like hearing when any show fails, even those I didn't care for, but this news makes me especially sad because of the larger picture of how unimaginably daunting the finances of Broadway have become, especially for a big musical."

Exactly. The bigger picture is that economics of Broadway are becoming too unsustainable. It always has been tough, but this is madness. 

[Impeach2017]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 11:59am

just a reminder where this so-called news is coming from but that won't stop the gotchas on here will it?

[BETTY22]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 12:07pm

WOW. $1.2 million per week break even.

What were they thinking? 

[quizking101]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 12:13pm

BETTY22 said: "WOW. $1.2 million per week break even.

What were they thinking?"

They were thinking it had the potential to become a long-running hit with an armful of Tony Awards and an appeal that crosses all ages and cultural background.

Big Bucks...and they hit a Whammy.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 12:25pm

I enjoyed this show but recognized the problems with it. Anna's character is incredibly unlikeable, you never really route for them as a couple because everyone around them seems cool with their relationship, and Colton is literally doing whatever he wants with this character, making him too weird for audiences to sincerely care what happens to him.

I don't read GOP gossip rags but no article was needed to tell me this show has been struggling.

 

[Phillyguy]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 12:34pm

quizking101 said: "BETTY22 said: "WOW. $1.2 million per week break even.

What were they thinking?"

They were thinking it had the potential to become a long-running hit with an armful of Tony Awards and an appeal that crosses all ages and cultural background.

Big Bucks...and they hit a Whammy."

Exactly, what were they thinking? 

What about this show made the creatives and producers think it was going to be a long-running hit. I wonder how much of the show do the producers see before they have to commit to the funding. I assume they have to put in some money to get the book and songs written, but did they not have a chance to stop it or fix it before making it to the stage? 

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 12:52pm

quizking101 said: "BETTY22 said: "WOW. $1.2 million per week break even.

What were they thinking?"

They were thinking it had the potential to become a long-running hit with an armful of Tony Awards and an appeal that crosses all ages and cultural background.

Big Bucks...and they hit a Whammy."

That's the problem, so many producers (& creative teams for that matter) get so into their own bubble that they think they have a Tony winning hit that will easily gross over $1mil a week and they spend accordingly. That's such delusional thinking though and then they get stunned by bad reviews or poor box office. There's a reason a musical like Shucked is going to run longer because that team had no delusions that it was going to be a Hamilton-like smash out of the gate and their strategy and spending reflected that (I'm not saying Shucked is going to be a huge hit either but I'm sure it's not bleeding money like NYNY or SLIH).

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 12:55pm

Why don't they partner with NYC tourism and make it THE show to see? Like come see the namesake show on Broadway. It ends with the title song. Should be such an easy sell to tourists. 

[Kad]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 1:04pm

Do tourists really want to come to NYC to see a show about how great NYC is? 

[ucjrdude902]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 1:05pm

Let this be a lesson that you cant but LMM on the marquee and think it's going to sell. 

[binau]

Posted: 7/11/23 at 1:07pm

I could be wrong, but I'm guessing the strategy is/was that they thought this could essentially become a staple of New York musicals that tourists would feed for years. They'd line up to see "New York, New York" as part of a trip the same way they'd go to a museum. They'd recognise the iconic 'New York, New York' song in particular and love it and tell their friends back home. They also probably thought LMM's name is a gold mine and overestimated his draw in this context. They probably thought it'd be critic and award proof because the title is so striking. It just didn't work out this way at all for some reason. 

I must admit, I was hoping to catch this show so I too was hoping it would catch on. But alas.